Cancer mage
|levels = |used-by = |source = ''Book of Vile Darkness'' |pages = 52–54 |rules = 3.5 }} The cancer mage is the back alley rat and corpse feaster of society. He hides in the shadows of abandoned buildings where no one cares to look into and digs through long forgotten trash. A cancer mage is one of the worst and most disgusting "people" a person is most likely to meet. They are ravaged and littered with disease, filth, and decay. As a vile creature, the cancer mage is most likely to have dark goals and to worship gods who favor corruption and disease who spread disease simply for the sake of disease. Cancer mages have skills and powers that allow them to use an array of lethal weapons which are not weapons of a typical fighter. The cancer mage strikes quickly from the shadows, but then scurries back into hiding so that his victim slowly dies from the festering and fatal wound. Cancer mages on occasion work in secretive, horrific societies of the disease-ridden underclass such as beggars and thieves. The foremost allies of the cancer mage are worms, insects, and rats. They also enjoy the company of assassins or vermin lords. They have a burning hatred for good aligned clerics but the greatest hate is reserved for paladins. Sometimes an intelligent monster such as troglodyte or a medusa might become a cancer mage but they will be isolated by their own kin. One might presume otyugh , vermin like giant maggots, or cockroaches would not dislike the company of the cancer mage. The most natural ally of the cancer mage are undead creatures. Becoming a cancer mage Among the once who might have the skill and will to become a cancer mage are rogues, rangers, druids and clerics who are of evil alignment. You need to be able to sneak and hide well and also have skill with healing and knowledge of nature. Before one can become a cancer mage one must have great fortitude, toughness and poison immunity. Due to this cancer mages must have had fallen victim to a disease and poison. Abilities ;Sneak attack: If a victim is attacked when it is unable to defend itself against the surprise attack of the cancer mage it will be stricken in a vital area. ;Disease Host: Even the most novice and low ranked of cancer mages are immune to the effects of diseases except the ones that harm skin and other visual areas such as boils, pockmarks, watery eyes, blackened skin, hair loss, foul smell, and symptoms. Diseases don't leave the cancer mage and every one they encounter and that enters their being will linger on them. If anyone tries to remove the diseases from him with a spell or otherwise he will be damaged as the diseases are a part of him. The cancer mage will after some experience learn contagion. ;Cancerous Companion: a Cancer mage novice will gain a cancer's growth with him that will grow and in the end gain its own intelligence and personality distinct from its spawner. The creation and its master have the ability to communicate with each other telepathically. ;Tatterdemalion: As the cancer mage gains experience it will soon learn the skill of Tatterdemalion which it uses to create a armor of scraps and disregarded rags and other trash. The armor provides the cancer mage with a lot of enhancements. ;Poison: Cancer mages have poisonous touch. ;Children of the night: As the Cancer mage gains more knowledge, he will learn how to call forth smaller and lesser creatures of the land and send them forth, they are usually a small group of spiders, a medium group of rats or a swarm of bats. These creatures serve the will of their summoner telepathically. ;Viral Agent: The cancer befriends one of the many viruses and diseases that inhabit him and give it more strength and intelligence supernaturally and gives it some of his own intelligence. He will gain a telepathic link with the disease and can communicate with it for one mile or more depending on skill. The mage can infect others with his Viral agent and can tell the mage what the new host is experiencing, but it is a disease and the new host can fight it of or get cured the viral agent will die. He can create as many Viral agents as he wish to spend is intelligence on as they take some of him until they die, but he will regain his lost intelligence a day after the agent dies. ;Infected wound: Cancer mages can infect an opponent with taint that will make the victim weaker and increases over time. ;Insect plague: A cancer mage can inflict insect plague. ;Insect Armor: The Cancer mage lets a swarm of worms and insects crawl all over his body and as they do this he will become more defended, but if he wears heaver armor the efforts of the swarm will not matter. ;Viral Ally: By devoting some intelligence, a experienced cancer mage can make a disease that will infect a person and then control it as if it was under the dominate spell. ;Disease form: A highly skilled cancer mage can take the form of a disease. As the mage turns in to his chosen disease he will not be detectable in any way shape or form, animals with scent skills will sense a scent of foulness in the air. He cannot move in this form unless moved by wind (if any) but any who comes close has to try and resist his disease. He can try and infect any one who comes close to him and enter their physical form. If the mage has infected some one and is within them curing the disease or fighting it off will kill the mage. While the mage is in disease form he will not need to sleep, eat, rest or drink and he does not age and can remain in that form for as long as he pleases. He can choose to leave his form from another person by materializing next to them. As he is within some one he can control all their abilities skills, spells and feats and any of his own that he can use in his disembodied state. Appendix References * Further Reading * Cancer Mage article on Forgotten Realms Helps Category:Classes Category:Prestige classes Category:Articles in need of citations Category:Articles requiring cleanup